Symptoms of Postnatal Depression

The whole family of mine was very happy, my elder sister was about to give birth to a child. She was very anxious as well as happy I could feel her mixed emotions.

The strange thing that I noticed in her in those days of her pregnancy was quiet strange.

After the baby was born, things became even worse for her. She was loosing wait at a constant rate and became so irritated that most of the time she left her child with either her in-laws or me.

I thought of talking to her directly and so I did. That really helped me a lot, she too confessed to me that she felt her problem with in but feared of discussing it before, as it would have a bad effect on her in-laws and husband. Being a student of psychology, I knew that it was the symptom of postnatal depression.

We immediately went to my teacher as I thought him to be an expert and in the case of my sister, I myself did not agree to do any experiment on her. According to Dr. Arnold Geri, symptom of postnatal depression arises among women after the childbirth. It has various intensity levels in different women but is something that must not be taken lightly.

It requires good care to ensure good health for both the mother and the baby. A serious problem with the most severe effect is postnatal psychosis and an early stage of these symptoms of postnatal depression is known as baby blues.

He further went on to say that, the symptoms are quite common to those of ordinary depression. Lethargy, irritation, sadness, lack of interest in routine activities, particularly during early hours of the day, and more frequently conflicts with the partner are some of the biggest issues in these cases.

While the doctor went on to say all these symptoms I saw how my sister was turning red. She was feeling restless and I as well as the doctor assured her that she would be fine as before.

The next day the doctor called me and said that my sister was suffering through another symptom, which was anxiety. He said how this anxiety could make her go into a state of acute depression. Constant ill feelings, bad ominous thoughts can crop up into her mind, which can in the end affect her brain and heart. I personally went and told my sister’s husband about this to which he assured of supporting her. We used counseling with her; talked to her and never let her go alone and thus helped her get out of this. Indeed, it lasted for some weeks, but gradually she came out of it and is leading a normal life with her child.

Symptom of postnatal depression need to be identified and dealt with since it not affects the life of the mother but also that of the newborn baby and is therefore the duty of every one of the family members to help the victims fight the problem and get out of it gradually and healthily.